Drones: Is there anything they can’t deliver?

It may be little more than 100 years ago that the Wright brothers took to the skies as they pioneered the world’s first aeroplane, but now the race is on to conquer the drone market.

In recent months it’s been claimed that pizzas, shopping, government documents and practically anything else you can think of will be delivered by drones. We soon won’t be able to move for them.

Facebook is the most recently reported company seemingly entering the drone market, as its rumoured purchase of manufacturer Titan Aerospace looks more realistic.

There’s no doubting the potential that drones could offer for delivery services and creative marketing departments in the future, but at present there are a lot of crucial problems that need to be solved before they can take off commercially.

Everything from ensuring the product is delivered to the right person, avoiding interception en-route and navigating adverse weather conditions are some of the hurdles that need to be climbed before drone delivery is a realistic possibility.

We’ve looked at some of the most ‘creative’ claims, or stunts, when it comes to companies utilising drones.

Beer

Ice fishers in Minnesota, US, were left disappointed when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded a local brewery’s beer delivering drone as it was outside the rules. Flying drones above 400 feet is not permitted in the country and commercial organisations are not allowed to use them either. The thirsty fishermen will have to return to shore for ice cold beers until the FAA announces legislation in 2015.

Pizza

The ‘DomiCopter’, by pizza giants Domino’s, flies over UK fields and rivers directed by a member of staff to deliver not one but two pizzas to a customer (or a lucky passerby) who happens to be outside waiting for the drone to arrive.

Official documents

In a move that can’t go wrong at all, the United Arab Emirates is set to launch a drone service that delivers government documents, packages and licences to officials. The unmanned aerial vehicles will be equipped with fingerprint and eye-recognition technology to try and prevent theft. The scheme is set to undergo a six month trial period in Dubai and then roll out to other parts of the country if the nation’s secrets haven’t been disclosed.

Parcels

The most high profile of the drone testing/stunts was by online shopping company Amazon who ambitiously stated customers could receive products 30 minutes after ordering them. Unlike the Minnesota brewery the company tested its drones outside of the US to get around the laws.

Finding bigfoot

It technically isn’t a company trying to make money from drones, but one ambitious group, The Falcon Project, are trying to launch a quiet, remote-controlled airship to find the large ape which has reportedly been spotted in the US. It sees the drone approach as being one of the best ways to hunt for the legendary creature over large areas.

Netflix

In many ways the video streaming company have hit the nail on the head when it comes to using drones. In their parody advert, which mocks many of the above, the company say that its ‘Drone-to-home’ project will deliver your disc to you within seconds of it being ordered.

Update

– It might not be all bad for the thirsty ice fishers as a judge in the US has ruled that commercially using drones is now legal. The ruling has effectively made the FAA’s current ban on drone use for commercial purposes not stand any longer. But if the FAA decides to appeal then the case could go to US Court of Appeals in Washington.

Wanted man captured thanks to facial recognition

A Chinese man who was wanted by police for “economic crimes” – which can include anything from tax evasion to the theft of public property – was arrested at a music concert in China after facial recognition technology spotted him inside the venue.

SpaceX president commits to city-to-city rocket travel

SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell has reiterated the company’s plans to make city-to-city travel — on Earth — using a rocket that’s designed for outer space a reality. Shotwell says the tech will be operational “within a decade, for sure.”

Businessman wins battle with Google over 'right to be forgotten'

A businessman fighting for the "right to be forgotten" has won a UK High Court action against Google.. The businessman served six months’ in prison for “conspiracy to carry out surveillance”, and the judge agreed to an “appropriate delisting order".

UK launched cyber attack on Islamic State

The UK has conducted a "major offensive cyber campaign" against the Islamic State group, the director of the intelligence agency GCHQ, Jeremy Fleming, has revealed. The operation hindered the group's ability to co-ordinate attacks and suppressed its propaganda.

Goldman Sachs consider whether curing patients is bad for business

Goldman Sachs analysts have attempted to tackle the question of whether pioneering "gene therapy" treatment will be bad for business in the long run. "Is curing patients a sustainable business model?" analysts ask in a report entitled "The Genome Revolution."

Four-armed robot performing surgery in the UK

A £1.5m "robotic" surgeon, controlled using a computer console, is being used to shorten the time patients spend recovering after operations. The da Vinci Xi machine is the only one in the country being used for upper gastrointestinal surgery.

Virgin Galactic rocket planes go past the speed of sound

Virgin Galactic completed its first powered flight in nearly four years when Richard Branson's space company launched its Unity spacecraft, which reached supersonic speeds before safely landing. “We’ve been working towards this moment for a long time,” Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides said in an email to Quartz.

Google employees protest being in "the business of war"

Thousands of Google employees, including dozens of senior engineers, have signed a letter protesting the company’s involvement in a Pentagon program that uses AI to interpret video imagery and could be used to improve the targeting of drone strikes. The letter, which is circulating inside Google, has garnered more than 3,100 signatures

Computer system transcribes words users “speak silently”

MIT researchers have developed a computer interface that transcribes words that the user verbalises internally but does not actually speak aloud. The wearable device picks up neuromuscular signals in the jaw and face that are triggered by internal verbalisations — saying words “in your head” — but are undetectable to the human eye.

Drones could be used to penalise bad farming

A report by a coalition of environmental campaigners is arguing squadrons of drones should be deployed to locate and penalise farmers who let soil run off their fields. Their report says drones can help to spot bad farming, which is said to cost more than £1.2bn a year by clogging rivers and contributing to floods.

Californian company unveil space hotel

Orion Span, a California company, has unveiled its Aurora Station, a commercial space station that would house a luxury hotel. The idea is to put the craft in low-earth orbit, about 200 miles up, with a stay at the hotel likely to cost $9.5 million for a 12-day trip, but you can reserve a spot now with an $80,000 deposit.

UK mobile operators pay close to £1.4bn for 5G

An auction of frequencies for the next generation of mobile phone networks has raised £1.36bn, says regulator Ofcom. Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three all won the bandwidth needed for the future 5G mobile internet services, which are not expected to be launched until 2020.